About the School of Social Sciences and Humanities
We are a research leader of the University, with internationally-renowned academic staff teaching across a range of disciplinary fields. We are one of the University’s most powerful teaching Schools, offering a breadth of programs of incredible range and diversity. We are driven by a passion for our subjects and a deep commitment to our students.
The School’s courses can be divided into three broad clusters:
Humanities: English and Creative Writing; Theatre and Drama; History; Philosophy; and Theology
International Studies: Asian Studies (including Indonesian and Japanese languages); Politics and International Studies; and Security Studies
Sustainability and Society: Community Development; Sociology; Sustainability; and Tourism
Why study the social sciences and the humanities? Why are these disciplines so powerful? Because so many of the biggest and most vital issues we face today are about human society and the human condition. How can we understand who we are, how we want to live, or what kind of society we want to create, without the insights, knowledge and skills that the social sciences and the humanities provide? So many of the great challenges we face as we look ahead have both their causes and solutions in the behaviour of societies and individuals: from the environment, to social cohesion, to economic development, to international conflict, and so on. We need the judgement, the experience and the principles that come from the study of these disciplines, if we are to build societies that are fair and free.
What we teach and study here is thus the irreplaceable core in shaping balanced, critical, socially responsive and reflective individuals. All our disciplines teach you to communicate with greater precision and style, to think more clearly, to analyse more rigorously, to become more ethically discerning, and to acquire the knowledge needed to be informed citizens in a democracy. So they equip you to do almost anything. It means that everything is possible for our graduates, because our graduates can think for themselves, our graduates are intellectually adaptable, and our graduates possess the critical skills that contemporary society demands.
Coming to Murdoch to study the social sciences and humanities demands a tremendous commitment from you. Our promise in return is to take that commitment seriously, and to make it mean something important. We value our students. Our core principle might be summarised simply as: ‘We want you to succeed.’
Associate Professor Andrew Webster
Dean of School
